Our Latest News

25 May 2011: Archbishop of Westminster to bless Inpatient Unit


On Wednesday 25 May, Archbishop Vincent Nicholls, patron of the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth will visit the newly refurbished Inpatient Unit at St John's Hospice, following a special mass to be held in St John's Church.

24 May 2011: Lady Jaffray's Musical Soiree


Lady Jaffray held her annual musical soiree at the Principal's House of Imperial College London, in aid of St John’s Hospice on Tuesday 24 May. Guests, both acquaintances of Lady Jaffray and relatives and patients of the hospice, enjoyed dinner and a wonderful choral concert courtesy of Schola Baptista. All proceeds from the event will be used towards the purchase of a specialist electric bed for the hospice.

This year marks the final event of its kind and we would like to extend our most sincere thanks to Lady Jaffray for her tireless efforts over the years on behalf of St John’s Hospice.

26 March 2011: The Gym Boot Camp

Fundraisers from The Gym helped raise £100 by taking part in a boot camp on Hampstead Heath on Saturday 25 March. Boot camp organiser, Jane Ledsham said "Everyone had a great time, we all had a lot of fun". The Gym are raising money for the Child Bereavement Service appeal during 2011.

25 March 2011: Child Bereavement Service appeal


Last October we started an appeal to raise £35,000 to fund developments of our Child Bereavement Service in 2011. Over £10,000 was raised, and we are now seeking to raise the remainder for this year, so that we can recruit additional bereavement support workers and provide bereavement care for more children in our catchment area of north and central London. Today we launch a new appeal in The Carer, our hospice newsletter.

21 February 2011: The Gym kick start their support of St John's

West Hampstead based fitness club, The Gym, encouraged staff and club members to participate in an organized charity day on Monday 21 February. Dressed in 80’s attire, staff at the club hosted a fantastic day featuring an array of competitive fitness challenges designed to help members meet their fitness goals while also raising money for a worthwhile cause.

For a donation to St John’s Hospice members took part in a rowathon, competing to row the furthest distance within a 20 minute time slot over a 12hr period. A press-up challenge and football keep-uppy challenge also featured throughout the day. Prizes were given to the winners. The club generated over £500 as a result of the day, all proceeds will be used to help fund the hospice's Child Bereavement Service, which will provide support to bereaved children in north and central London.

14 December 2011: Christmas Carols at Lord's Cricket Ground


The ninth annual Evening of Carols in aid of St John's Hospice was held on 14 December in the Long Room at Lord's. Around 350 people, consisting of MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) Members, the St John’s Wood Almshouse residents, Chelsea Pensioners and Cllr Michael Brahams, DL – the Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster, came to Lord's for the event and joined in the carol singing, led by The London Chorus, conducted by Ronald Corp. During the interval guests were served mulled wine and 900 mini mince pies made fresh on site in the Lord’s kitchens on Tuesday afternoon. The MCC raised a fantastic £4,000 for the Hospice through a collection at the end of the event, doubing the total raised last year.

9 December 2001: Light Up A Life


Several hundred people turned up for the annual Light Up A Life service at St John's Wood Church, followed by a procession along St John's Wood High Street to the Hospice. The service was led by the Rev Dr Anders Bergquist, with contributions from other local religious leaders. Readings were read by the Hospice's medical director, Dr Chris Farnham, and two relatives of hospice patients. The Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster led the procession to the Hospice, and introduced the tree-lighting ceremony outside in the grounds of the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth, accompanied by young singers from the Syliva Adams Choir. Those attending were then able to join hospice staff in having mulled wine and mince pies, while viewing hundreds of dedications on the 'Wall of Stars'. The wall will remain in place during the month of December.To date, the Light Up A Life appeal has raised around £20,000.

4 December 2010: St John's Hospice Christmas Fayre

More than £1,300 was raised at the annual St John's Hospice Christmas Fayre, which took place on Saturday 4 December. Many thanks to those that came and to the stall holders and hospice volunteers and staff who made the event a success. Councillor Robert Davis, deputy leader of Westminster City Council helped set the Fayre off to a good start, dressed in his mayoral insignia. The Fayre culminated with the raffle draw at 2:30. The following tickets remain unclaimed. Call Emma on 020 7806 4074 to claim your prize if you bought one of these tickets: White: 14, 46, 53, 55, 60, 65, 66, 67, 87, 108, 141. Yellow 324, 324, 325, 349,351, 382, 401, 449. Pink 5.

2 December 2010: The Light Up A Life Tree has arrived 

The Light Up A Life Christmas tree, donated by David Fox-Pitt of Wild Fox Events, has been set up on the green outside the hospice in the grounds of the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth. Dedications for Light Up A Life are still being received at the Hospice, and a special service at St John's Wood Church will be held on 9 December at 6:45pm. Click through to our Light Up A Life appeal page to make a dedication to someone in your loving memory. Dedications will be written on a special Wall of Stars displayed within the Hospital all month.

29 November 2010: Christmas Fayre raises over £2,000 for the Hospice

Many thanks to everyone who came to a very cold St John's Wood High Street Christmas Fayre and lights switch-on on Sunday 28 Novmber. More than £2,450 was raised through donations and a raffle of donated goods from High Street stores. Many thanks are also due to volunteers from the hospice, Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth, and the St John's Wood Society, who helped on the hospice stall and with collecting, and selling raffle tickets. Two raffle prizes remain unclaimed: Orange 293 and Green 003. Please contact 0207 806 4074.

8 November 2010: Connect Project - Inpatient Unit refurbishment underway


Work began on the much-awaited Inpatient Unit refurbishment in September 2010 following various grants, including £600,000 from the Department of Health capital grant programme facilitated by Help the Hospices.

The planned work will ensure all 11 single bedrooms have an en-suite wet room and the two four-bedded bay areas will each have access to two en-suite toilets. The hospice entrance will be improved significantly, with a more accessible reception area and a new nursing office allowing more privacy for confidential discussions. The layout will be improved to group bedrooms together, with utility rooms kept separate from patient areas. There will also be a new patient-accessible landscaped courtyard.

While the works are underway, the inpatient unit has been relocated onto St Francis ward within the main Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth building. The work will be completed by end March 2011.
 

4 November 2010: Hospice shop re-launch

St John's Hospice shop, at 86 High Street in St John's Wood has had a make-over by partners from John Lewis, Oxford Street. The well-respected retailer has designed our new look 'boutique'-style shop, which was relaunched on 4 November, with a guest appearance from hospice celebrity supporter, Meg Matthews. Jim White (pictured right), CSR manager at John Lewis, was supported by a team of willing volunteers from the Visual Merchandising team who spent two weeks in September completely renewing the shop interior, with donated flooring, wallpaper, till point and window dressing. Donations of clothing are much appreciated at the shop.